City manager hopes residents will consider the option

ADELANTO — Several Adelanto citizens said this week that they would vote against a proposed utility-user tax that would allow the nearly bankrupt city to avoid an impending Chapter 9 filing.

City officials are desperately trying to trim a $2.6 million deficit and attract businesses to bring in more revenue, and they say the proposed 7.95 percent tax is the only hope of bolstering the city’s finances right now.

Adelanto is host to 7,101 households in a 56-square-mile area, and 32 percent have incomes at or below the poverty line, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The median income of residents in the city is $41,113, or about $20,000 below the state’s median income of $61,400.

Panko, who lives alone, said she’s on a fixed income of Social Security benefits.

“They only want this to save (themselves), and we don’t want to do it,” Panko said.

Adelanto City Manager Jim Hart said the City Council and city staff are simply asking residents to consider the option.

“Those who are opposed have that right,” Hart said. “We’re just hoping more of the residents will recognize the seriousness of the issue and be willing to support the issue.”